by
Emily Dickinson (1830 - 1886)
Nature, the gentlest mother
Language: English
Our translations: CAT FRE GER ITA
Nature, the gentlest mother
Impatient of no child,
The feeblest or the waywardest, -
Her admonition mild
In forest and the hill
By traveller is heard,
Restraining rampant squirrel
Or too impetuous bird.
How fair her conversation,
A summer afternoon, -
Her household, her assembly;
And when the sun goes down
Her voice among the aisles
Incites the timid prayer
Of the minutest cricket,
The most unworthy flower.
When all the children sleep
She turns as long away
As will suffice to light her lamps;
Then, bending from the sky,
With infinite affection
And infiniter care,
Her golden finger on her lip,
Wills silence everywhere.
About the headline (FAQ)
Text Authorship:
Musical settings (art songs, Lieder, mélodies, (etc.), choral pieces, and other vocal works set to this text), listed by composer (not necessarily exhaustive):
- by Ernst Bacon (1898 - 1990), "The gentlest mother", published 1971 [ soprano and alto soli, SSA chorus, and piano ], from Nature [sung text not yet checked]
- by Ernst Bacon (1898 - 1990), "Nature, the gentlest mother", published 1944 [ voice and piano ], from Songs from Emily Dickinson: Nature Time and Space - Volume 2 [sung text checked 1 time]
- by Aaron Copland (1900 - 1990), "Nature, the gentlest mother", 1949-50 [ mezzo-soprano, piano ], from Twelve Poems of Emily Dickinson, no. 1 [sung text checked 1 time]
Available translations, adaptations or excerpts, and transliterations (if applicable):
- CAT Catalan (Català) (Salvador Pila) , "Natura, la mare més gentil ", copyright © 2016, (re)printed on this website with kind permission
- FRE French (Français) (Guy Laffaille) , "Nature, mère la plus gentille", copyright © 2008, (re)printed on this website with kind permission
- GER German (Deutsch) (Bertram Kottmann) , copyright © 2013, (re)printed on this website with kind permission
- ITA Italian (Italiano) (Ferdinando Albeggiani) , copyright © 2010, (re)printed on this website with kind permission
Researcher for this page: Ted Perry
This text was added to the website between May 1995 and September 2003.
Line count: 24
Word count: 103
Natura, la madre più dolce
Language: Italian (Italiano) after the English
Natura, la madre più dolce
con tutti i suoi figli paziente,
i docili - o i ribelli -
Delicato il suo monito -
Per foreste e colline
dal viandante - è ascoltato -
mentre placa lo scoiattolo inquieto
o l'uccello veloce.
Come è dolce conversare con Lei
nei pomeriggi d'estate,
familiare - la sua compagnia -
quando il sole tramonta.
La sua voce tra le file di alberi
suscita, come fra navate di chiesa,
la timida preghiera del grillo
o del più umile fiore -
E quando tutti i suoi figli riposano
Lei si allontana quel poco
che basta ad accendere i suoi lumi -
Poi affacciandosi in cielo
con affetto infinito -
e più infinita cura -
porta alle labbra il suo dito dorato
e ordina silenzio - dappertutto.
About the headline (FAQ)
Text Authorship:
- Translation from English to Italian (Italiano) copyright © 2010 by Ferdinando Albeggiani, (re)printed on this website with kind permission. To reprint and distribute this author's work for concert programs, CD booklets, etc., you may ask the copyright-holder(s) directly or ask us; we are authorized to grant permission on their behalf. Please provide the translator's name when contacting us.
Contact: licenses@email.lieder.example.net
Based on:
This text was added to the website: 2010-09-06
Line count: 24
Word count: 118